130 UK Muslim leaders, imams deny funeral services to London terrorists
Religious officials urge others to follow their lead, say attackers willfully dismissed Muslim religious principles; Tillerson welcomes stance
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Over 130 UK Muslim religious leaders have said they won’t perform funeral rites for the three terrorists who carried out a weekend terror attack in London that left seven people dead and injured dozens, a move that was welcomed Tuesday by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
The Muslim Council of Britain on Monday published a statement condemning the combined car-ramming and knife attack and urging other imams to join them in denying burial services for the perpetrators.
“We, as Muslim imams and religious leaders, condemn the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London in the strongest terms possible,” the Muslim leaders said in a statement, referring to the London attack and a suicide bombing two weeks earlier at a pop concert that killed 22 people and injured over 110.
Both attacks were claimed by the Islamic State terror group.
“We are deeply hurt that a spate of terror attacks have been committed in our country once more by murderers who seek to gain religious legitimacy for their actions. We seek to clarify that their reprehensible actions have neither legitimacy nor our sympathy.”
On Tuesday, police identified the third attacker as Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Italian of Moroccan descent, a day after naming his accomplices as Khuram Shazad Butt, 27, a Pakistan-born Briton, and Rachid Redouane, 30, a self-described Moroccan-Libyan dual national.
“Their acts and willful dismissal of our religious principles alienates them from any association with our community for whom the inviolability of every human life is the founding principle,” the statement said, justifying the decision not to “perform the traditional Islamic funeral prayer for the perpetrators.”
“We also urge fellow imams and religious authorities to withdraw such a privilege.”
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson welcomed the measure taken by the imams, Fox News reported. Tillerson said the imams’ rejection of the terrorists was “condemning their souls,” as the funeral prayers ask for forgiveness.
On Monday, former police commander for engagement, Mak Chishty, called for “a step-change – a different direction and a different movement to counter the scourge of terrorism, extremism and hatred that we have in our communities at present.”
Chishty, the highest-ranking UK Muslim police officer, read a statement outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters at New Scotland Yard on behalf Muslim communities, in which he said, “It is the Islamic duty of every Muslim to be loyal to the country in which they live. We are now asking questions to understand how extremism and hatred has taken hold within some elements of our own communities.”
"We would like to convey our thoughts and prayers to families, our appreciation to emergency services and public for their brave response" pic.twitter.com/dXKxqmMCbA
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) June 5, 2017
The London attack followed the May 22 suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena by Salman Abedi, who was also known to British intelligence services.
In Saturday’s attack, three men, wearing fake suicide vests, mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge in a van, before slashing and stabbing revelers in Borough Market, a bustling district of late-night bars and restaurants.
Praise has been heaped upon the police for their swift response and bravery. An armed unit killed the trio with 50 shots within eight minutes of the alarm being raised.
The Times of Israel Community.